The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1887-07-29
THE BOOMING WEST.
KANSAS cITY'S CABLE RAILROADS
AND THEIR IMMENSE PROFITS.

A Two and Half Mile Road That
Makes $500 a Day-other Street Car
Matters-Kansas City Payements-The
Curious Crowd on the Streets.
special Correspondence
KANSAS CITY, July 20.
Kansas City mas demonstrated the success
of the cable railroad as well perhaps as any
town in the country. 1t has now three cable
street railroads, and q number more are be
ing built. The father Of the cable roads here
is a young man named Gillian, who does not
look to be over thirty years OF age He was,
as Mr.. Lawrence, the managing editorof The
Kansas City journal, tells me, in the real
estate business when he first came to Kansas
City, and he devoted his engineering talents
to moving the immense hills CT earth Of
which Kansas City is made from one point to
another. He kept cutting down here and
filling up there, and it was pet project of
his to devise some way to get over the bluff
which here hangs over the river landing and
upon the top and back Of which the city is
built. This bluff rises almost precipitously
from the river, and its sides are lined with
terraces of little boxlike one story houses. 1t
is ragged and angry, and is perhaps 300 feet
high. A long detour had to be made to get
into the city, and Gillian schemed for q
time upon an inclined plane cable road
which should carry passengers only to
the top of the bluff. This, however,
did not take, and he then got uE a company
to lay q cable road up this incline and to run
it off through the business part of the city
It was an expensive undertaking, but it is a
complete success, and this road now carries
10000 passengers q day. 1t charges five
cents apiece and has an income of 81 900 day.
When it was being built it was estimated that
5000 fares day would pay all it's expenses,
and that 5000 passengers would enable it to
give dividend. Its capital Is something over
81 COZ, 900, and its profits must be over $500
day. 1t is now two and a half miles long,
and its course through the business section
and out to the best residence part ON Inde-
pendence avenue is one of the best travelled in
the city 1t goes very fast and climbs up
hill and down at the same speed. Its success
has SO stimulated the desire for caLle cars
that it is probable the system will be extended
to the numerous other lines which are now
run by mules Cable street railroad buiIling
costs here, am told about 500. 900 per mile,
but Kansas City is, however. so hilly that
this cost ought to be more than that of other
towns of more favorable topography. The
cable is much preferred by the people to the
horse cars as means of transit and the res
idence property along the lines Of such roads
has increased in value. Gable roads are to be
the future of the street travel of Washington
city, and there will be big chance for real
estate speculation in buying property along
the projected lines if congress ever grants q
charter. 49,
Kansas City has also an elevated railway,
which leads out through the packing houses
of Armourdale and across the river to Kansas
City, Kan, and to Wyandotte, the two viii
lagos which lie on the river at this point
This road runs through the part of tn city
along the river bank, and it gives the same
views of second story interiors that you see
OIL the elevated roads of New York city
1t seems to have plenty of travel, too, and
is evidently prospering.
There is also an electric railway here-one
of the kind that communicates the electricity
from wires running over the heads of the
car 1t is new thing, and is rather o show
affair than one of great practical use; still
it seems to work well, and took ride upon
it over its line of about a mile in length, and
we went up and down hill at q lively rate.
The mule street car lines of Kansas City
are run on an economical basis. The driver
acts as conductor, and gracefully takes up
the fares when his team of mules is climbing
o steep hill. He then drops his lines over the
front railing of the car and steps back into it
and collects the fares. He has bell punch
around his neck, and he registers each fare
with punch and ring. At the steepest hills
O third mule is hitched to the side of the
team, and was surprised to see, upon get
ting over the hill, that it was unhitched and
permitted to trot on to the foot, where it
stopped and helped the next car up this side
as it had done our car on the other.
Kansas City is paving great deal with
cedar or pine blocks, which are made Of trees
about four inches in diameter, cut into
lengths about five inches long. The bark is
taken off them, and they are stood ON end
upon foundation of planks which rests upon
the ground. The blocks fit pretty closely to-
gether, and the holes surrounding them are
filled in with sand and cement The pavement
forms pleasant one to walk and drive upon,
but the planks will soon rot, and it promises
to be an expensive experiment. Kansas City
has twenty miles of streets paved in this way
to six miles of MacAdam and not quite two
miles of stone blocks. As to sidewalks, the
older. parts of the city are laid out with
brick and there is some tagging, but all over
it the wide board walks of new western
town remain in patches. In front of some of
the chief business storeS-rOoms which rent
for 81 600 and upwards per year-these board
walks are seen, and they, in some places, form
the pavement in front of ground worth 81 900
to $1,000 front foot and under buildings
which are of four, five or six stories in height
80
The stores of Kansas City are good and |
many of them carry very large stocks Of !
goods The price of such things as knew
seemed to me not higher than in the east and |
the collection as good as could be found in |
eastern cities of the same size. Kansas City |
has been made by its commerce, and it is i'm |
this that its future will largely consist. It |
has, however, fields of coal at no great dis |
tance along d number OF its railroads, and |
is beginning to be done to |
some extent. In 1886 the manufactured |
product of the city, including 100000 in |
meat packing, amounted to $50 000, 600, en-
bracing everything from whisky to ma
chinery. 80
In reports given in the two leading daily |
papers of Kansas City summing up the bust |
ness of the past six months, it is stated that |
there has been an increase of about 40 per /
cent. in the wholesale business of the city |
since the beginning of this year, and /
tho retail merchants generally report that |
trade is good. The wholesale grocery trade, /
which amounted to $4,000. 900 in 1856, is es-
timated to have increased 10 per cent, whole I
sale dry goods sales have increased so per
cent and agricultural implements about 25 I
per cent. The crops are excellent all over
Kansas and in the territory tributary to this
city, and prosperous fall trade is expected.
50
/ ana surprised TO find how much business
IS done here by young men. Some of the
largest establishments here are managed by
men who would be considered boys in the
sast, and the crowd on the streets is notably
,ne of young men. It is curious crowd,
,oo-a rushing, pushing, eager eyed, good
aatured conglomerate gathered frosa all parts
Of the country. 1t cares less for appearances
than an eastern crowd, and the man with his
pants in his boots. broad sombrefo hat upon
his head, and red shirt sleeves sticking out
,ide of the arm holes of his vest does not feel
,ut of place by the young swell in dude like
iress who pushes his way along the street
beside him. There are plenty Of well dressed
men here, and plenty who apparently care
nothing for dress You see on the same
street the cowboy like, sombrero hated
igure looping along on his raw boned, wiry
mustang and the young Bostonian, who IS
lere loaning money ON real estate, riding his
hs,rvxxv